Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

The Flyin’ Hawaiian Speaks

Shane Victorino spoke to reporters for the first time since the Phillies lost Game 5 of the NLDS on Friday.

Does Friday feel like a long time ago to fans? Or is the loss still fresh?

Anyway, here are a few highlights from his news conference.

On his frustration: If you’re disappointed and you’re frustrated, I’m 10 times more disappointed that we were ousted in the first round. This was a special team. I think we had one goal, and that was to get to the World Series. I think a lot of people took that into consideration that if we didn’t get to the World Series, this season would be a bust. As a player, that’s what I want. I want fans that want the best out of their players. … This is probably the hardest one to swallow. Winning in 2008, yeah, I made the last out in 2009, but I was able to go home that night and say we came that far, but we fell a little short. We just ran into a team in San Fran last year that was playing that much better. This year I think it was tough to swallow.

On taking a step back every year in the playoffs since winning the 2008 World Series: “It’s not a trend. It’s an occurrence. I will promise you in 2012 it will be different. We’re that much hungrier. I’m hungrier.”

On offense’s shortcomings: “For a guy like myself who did make a statement like that in spring training, to say not to forget about this offense, and for it not to show up in the postseason … we could sit here all day long and reflect on what we didn’t do. Look at our team. It was definitely built around our pitching, and to not show up in the postseason, I think that’s very tough.”

On how team can improve offensive approach: “I’d like to say we all just need to figure it out. I keep saying that. Individually we need to maybe look in the mirror this offseason and see what we need to do differently, what we can do differently and go out there in spring training and work at it and come back in 2012 and be the offense that we’re capable of being. People are going to say as these guys are getting older, they’re not as good. I don’t see why you can’t get better. We’re a good offensive team. I think that we can be a great offensive team. Some of the pieces might be a little different next year. But I don’t see a reason why we can’t be the team we were in ’08 and ’09. But we’ve got to work at it.”

On the offseason: “Going into this offseason, this might be the most hungry I’ve ever been. I have that bitter taste in my mouth. This year, I 100 percent have that bitter taste in my mouth. I want to come back that much better, that much more excited to play. This was by far the toughest one to swallow. Three days later I’m still bitter we didn’t reach the ultimate goal.”

25 Comments

Talk, talk, talk. I think if you go back to last off-season, he said a lot of the same things about being hungry. A lot of stuff happens between October and March, and it seems that this ballclub has short collective memories.

Ruben was talking today like you can teach old dogs new tricks; for example, their collective approach at the plate. We’ll see. I am not confident that someone like Ryan Howard is all of a sudden going to become a student of hitting.

I heard Ruben say that he thought there were some .300 hitters on this team. I don’t know if he’s been looking at the numbers. He said that Howard has hit .300. — in 2006. That was probably before teams started playing the second baseman in short right field.
Rollins hit .297 in 2007. Victorino has never hit .300. Utley hit .332 in 2007. That’s a long time ago. I’m not sure if Ruben was trying to talk himself into something or talk us into something, but as of now, I’m not buying it.
Sure, they have the best starters in the NL, but as I’ve said, they still have to hit. Contrary to prior belief, none of those guys won 20 games. They still have to score runs.
Sad to say about a team that won 102 games, but they have a lot of work to do.

I have been a Phillies Phan since 1972. I have endured some seasons I would never forget. I have been through some seasons that I could not beleive why people even went out to watch them in Veterans Stadium. I spend each and every night sitting by my tv and watching the games. I can say that I have been a devoted fan regardless of what the season’s had had brought. The past 6 years have been exciting for me. I was at the parade in 1980. I was at the parade in 2008. I was hoping to go once again in 2011. I was sure this would be the case. It didnt happen. I am disapointed. But after a few days of letting the pain of that 5th game diminish, I am gratefull I am no A Mets fan or many other teams that have nt enjoyed the success we have. 102 wins..wow…..It just was not our week and the Cards played better

I’ve been a Phillies fan for a long time, too. Actually since around 1960. And I will always be a Phillies fan. But I believe the 2011 Phillies failed. Not only did they lose in the first round of the playoffs, they lost horribly. Weak ground balls. Lazy fly balls. Pitchers who couldn’t hold leads. A manager who didn’t trust his bench when the regulars made out after out after out after out. Were the hitters pressing instead of being patient? Were the pitchers too nonchalant? Why does Halladay give up runs at the beginning and then bear down? I don’t have the answers. I’m not a coach, I’m just a fan. This team didn’t just lose. They didn’t just get beat. They blew it.

Steve: I think you’ll find that it isn’t just Halladay that gives up runs in the first inning and then bears down. I call it my “Ace Rule.” Great pitchers often get scored on in the first inning then give up nothing later. The key is limiting the damage early. I don’t know why either, but it happens. Halladay was fortunate last Saturday that they came back and probably expected them to score more than 1 on Friday, even though his damage could have been worse.

Interesting observation about Charlie not trusting his bench. Yet he over trusts regulars giving the green light to certain players to swing away on 3-0 pitches and others to steal a base at will. Other than mucking things up, what exactly is Charlie’s function? What exactly does Charlie bring to the table? Oh, that’s right, he is a player’s manager. In effect he allows the inmates to take over the asylum.

I’m with you. It was a great 5 months of baseball. I remember when Playoff and Phillies were not 2 words you said together. It was a great year, but we lost. True fans ride with their team loss or win. As the Phillies got popular, the bandwagonners come out as “true fans”, but we know better. Come on 2012 season….GO PHILLIES!!!

I don’t need to defend myself as a fan of the Phillies, but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize when they choke. This team was put together to win the World Series. If they had made it to the Series and lost, that would have been a disappointment, but one I could live with. But to stink up the place, the way they did in the NLDS…… I got nothing but disgust for them.

More of this true fans crap again. This team stunk up the joint against the Cards. That seems perfectly OK to you. But not to me and I’ve been following this team since By Saam and Bill Campbell called the games. Go pound sand, true fan.

perhaps Oswalt is onto something. He pitches a bulpen session the day before a start. Perhaps Halladay needs to pitch an inning, with a batter standing at the plate, in the bullpen before a game. Get his first inning out of the way

I used to be a Charlie lover. He’s as much responsible for the collapse, as any of his players. He was definitely out-managed thoughout the whole series. I agree….he’s loyal to a fault. I’m not sure I agree he “doesn’t trust the bench”. The unlikely hero (and only one) of the series, was a bench player. Francisco’s 3 run HR. Charlie just wanted his regulars to get the big wins. Which, of course, never happened.
Howard should never have been playing, after the 2nd game. And everyone knows Polly was struggling with that sports hernia for a while. I know you have to “play though the pain”. But not when a WS ring depends on it.
I have to wonder what any of the players would have said about being pulled, or replaced, in order to win. I hope they would have been alright with it.

The Francisco move was hardly a stroke of genius. He needed a pinch hitter. There surely was a contrast in styles between Charlie and LaRussa. I joked that watching LaRussa was like watching a Little League game. Everybody plays. But he wasn’t afraid to use his players, which is more than I can say for Charlie. Valdez and Mayberry should have played at least one game.

Mayberry did play (against Garcia), and Valdez should have started at least the last two games in place of Polanco. At the very least, Charlie dropped the ball in the eighth inning of game five by sending Polanco and Ruiz up to bat at that stage.
LaRussa is going to be canonized once more, but he was extremely lucky. His move to pitch Capenter in game 2 on three days rest blew up in his face, but the Phillies didn’t capitalize. Carpenter never should have gotten the opportunity to take the ball again. The series really should have been a sweep when the Phillies stole game 3, but that just shows how it’s players who win and lose, not managers.

phan: For some reason, managers almost never use their reserve catcher in late innings. They’re almost always the last guys on the bench. Pinch-hitting for Ruiz (which I agree was the thing to do) would have forced Schneider into the game. Ruiz and Polanco were clueless, but Charlie sticks with “his guys,” regardless of their issues.
Forgot about Mayberry in the Garcia game. I usually look that stuff up first.
And to say it “should have been a sweep” is a stretch, when they clearly weren’t hitting. There are lots of goats, but you can’t hit .226 in a series (with a .269 OBP) and expect to win, no matter who’s pitching.
I think managing comes into play more in a short series than at other times. LaRussa did the right things by using his players, while Charlie stuck by his veterans.

muleman, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it should have been a sweep. Cliff Lee was 94-1 in his career when presented with a four run lead. Hamels battled as well as anybody in game 3 and they stole it.
LaRussa got lucky because his decision to pitch Carpenter on three days rest blew up in his face. The fact that the Phillies didn’t close out that game came back to haunt them by giving Carpenter another chance. Frankly, with Oswalt vs. Edwin Jackson, I never thought they would get to a game 5. Yeah, LaRussa uses his bench better, but look at his bench compared to the Phillies..

Well sure. I root, root, rooted for the home team too even when they were perpetual cellar dwellers. But we were fed so much hype this season, especially from those 3 booth stooges, McCarthy, Wheeler and Sarge, that I started to believe it. Then it all came crashing down in 5 games. But we were told during that 8 game slide, not to worry. The big guns were rested and hungry to fulfill their destiny. Now I feel just like a mushroom…kept in the dark and fed horse manure. If the Bank was totally empty next year it would serve them right.

While it might be true that Shane said the same thing after last season, I know that I’m hungrier after this season than last. Remember the big 20 game slump in the first half of 2010? We came back from that. We’ll come back from this, but I agree we need a lot more plate discipline and the ability to play small ball. Charlie’s loyalty issues will likely not change because that’s a key part of his style.

And that’s why we love the Flyin’ Hawaiian! No hiding. No excuses. Only a guarantee to work harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again. How many other players are taking the “Hawaiian Challenge”? We’ll see who looks like what in February and March….. THERE IS NO “OFF”SEASON! Keep in shape guys!

Hold on. I lost a lot of respect for Shane when he flew off the handle with his, “If you fans can do better than me, grab a bat and try. Hitting major league pitching is hard.” I’ll wager not a single player gave back any of his salary for being so pathetic when it really counted. They folded like a house of cards. Now trying to hype us once again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me for believing your hype. Prove it, Shane. It’s the big bad wolf syndrome all over again. Lie to me over and over again, I’m gonna stop believing. I know I’m not gonna be as gullible next year. And I won’t be spending my hard earned $$$ on tickets or supporting sponsors by watching TV telecasts. You jerked me around yet again. All you fat cats should have incentive contracts only. Produce or get paid minimum wages. You might be more hungry to win if your paycheck was at stake.

Davy, thanks for jumping off the bandwagon. Hopefully we won’t have to read any more of your whiny posts. Go buy a pedigree dog with your ticket money. There are plenty of real phans waiting to buy those tickets.

If the Phils had lost the last game in Atlanta, Atlanta would have played the Cards in a one game take all. Carpenter was off for the first game. Remember Phils winning 11-? against Carpenter in game one? So Atlanta wins because Carpenter was of. Phils wipe out Milwaukee. Phils wipe out Atlanta. Now Phils are playing Texas instead of Cards.

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